


Bands on Your Fingers

by SarahHBE



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Mild Language, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 16:10:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10134710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahHBE/pseuds/SarahHBE
Summary: A dark grey band appears on the ring finger of your left hand.  This is how you know you have a soulmate.  The closer you get to meeting them color starts to come into the band and when your hands meet the colors come into focus.  But can this bond can reach through time to bring two people together?





	

            Steve looked down as the dark band around the base of his left ring finger.  The skin had changed color some time while he slept and he was truly shocked.  No one thought he’d live long enough for the soulmate mark to show up and yet here it was.  This was lulu!  He couldn’t wait to show Bucky!  This was as good omen, he knew it.  Nothing was going to bring this day down, he thought, as he headed to the cinema to see a new film called “Dive Bomber.”

 

* * *

 

 

            After meeting Peggy Carter, Steve sneaked a peek at his ring finger.  The band was still a dark grey, no color to it.  He let out the breath he had been holding but decided it didn’t matter.  Getting to the front and helping the boys out was what he was here for, after all.

 

* * *

 

 

            The first-time Tony noticed the dark band on his left ring finger he thought it was dirt.  He was in his lab at MIT, a little sooty and dirty from welding so he ignored it until later when he was washing his hands. The dirt and grime came off but a dark band was left on his skin.   He scrubbed a little harder until the flesh around the band turned pink, but the band stayed stubbornly dark grey.  Taking a deep breath, he gripped the edge of the sink and slowly let it out.

 

* * *

 

 

            On a visit, back to his home he made the mistake of asking his parents about the band.  His mother gave him an unreadable look before heaving a sigh.  Howard had simply shrugged before wandering off.  After Howard left, Marie came to sit next to Tony and took off the heavily diamond encrusted wedding band she wore.  Beneath it was a band of green and yellow swirling together is a beautiful pattern that mesmerized the eye.   She spoke as she slipped the ring back on.

            “He died while we were still in college.  Your father’s never changed colors.”

 

* * *

 

 

            At 36 years-old Tony would deny he still looked at the band.  Dark grey against his tan skin still it felt like a reminder that he was more like his father every day.  Deep down he knew it’d never change.  The colors of the band came from love, and who, in their right mind, would ever love him like that.

 

* * *

 

 

            The first thing Steve did when he woke up was take stock of himself.  He looked around and, stiffly, sat up.  He held his hands out in front of him and flexed them because it felt like they hadn’t been used in a while.  The dark band stood out against pale skin.  He stared hard, it was only just a slight bit different, like adding a drop extra pigment to a paint color you were trying to match to something else, but the grey looked redder?

 

* * *

 

 

            Through expert manipulation Pepper took the folder from Phil and handed it off to Tony.  When she took the Champaign glass from his left hand her eyes caught suddenly on his ring finger and widened.  Tony was still talking while the implications ran through her head.  Slowly a smile tugged at her lips until it was a full-blown smile.  She set down her glass and walked up behind Tony.  With a few whispered words and kiss on the check she was gone.  Tony brought his left hand up and stared at the band.  It was no longer grey, but a faded sky blue, not yet crisp like it would be when the change in color was complete.

 

* * *

 

 

            Tony Stark strutted.  That was the first thing Steve noticed about him.  Not the stream of unfamiliar words, but the way he walked, the arch of his back as he held himself and the tone of his voice – both playful and condescending.  When they were in the lab, Steve noticed the way his hair was styled and the scent of his shampoo (something woodsy?), there was the way the wrinkles around his eyes scrunched up and made the brown of his iris’s glow.  Steve wasn’t sure he was more annoyed with Tony or himself.  But when Tony offered him those blueberries, Steve got a good look at the dark blue band of his finger with the red accents and couldn’t stop the hurtful words coming out of his mouth.

 

* * *

 

 

            Steve Rogers was fascinating and frustrating.  Nothing like an idol to come to life and tear you down.  Attracts disasters should be on Tony’s headstone.  Hell, that’d be vandalized within 48 hours, too.  So, Tony said some mean things to the Capscile.  Call him a bad boy and add it to the list.  But hey, they worked it out, kind of.  Kicked an alien army’s ass, rescued the damsel in distress (Clint), and got his tower blown up.  He couldn’t even be blamed for the whole tower blowing up thing.  Not my fault, take that Rhodey and Pepper. 

 

* * *

 

 

            At Tony’s insistence, they were eating swarma.  Steve wasn’t eating much, even had his gloves still on.  Must have figured that was hard cause he was finally taking them off.  Tony’s eyes zeroed in on the band on his ring finger.  A solid gold color, which was pretty standard, Tony thought.  But then he noticed the red lines creating a geometric pattern across the gold and around the edges of the band.  There was a hint of bright blue almost glowing around the edges of the red.  That color scheme . . .

            Tony looked up from the band and met Steve’s blue eyes.  He was looking at him with a frown and Tony had no idea what his face was doing but his eyes twitched down to Steve’s finger again and Steve looked down.  The frown morphed into shock as he looked up and then his eyes were searching out Tony’s left hand.  Tony brought his hand up with a gulp and looked.  The band was old glory blue but was outlined in red.  Thin white lines covered it in diagonal stripes around its entirety.  Holy fuck.

            Before Tony could possibly process what was going on there was a suddenly clatter and the entire table bucked, almost toppling the food and drinks on it.  Their teammates let out curses or shouts but all Tony could see was Steve’s left hand clutched around his.  And that’s when the colors came into sharp relief.  Almost snapping into place until they looked like physical rings against their skin.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you


End file.
